Mccaskey: Wannstedt Won't Be Under The Gun

July 25, 1998|By John Mullin, Tribune Staff Writer.

PLATTEVILLE, Wis. — Bears President Michael McCaskey hears the criticisms of his head coach. But he is refusing to join them or set any victory total or timetable that Dave Wannstedt must meet to keep his job in 1998.

McCaskey told the Tribune Friday that his demand of Wannstedt remains the same as it was throughout last season's 4-12 nightmare:

"I don't go into a season with a specific number of wins," McCaskey said. "I'm looking for a performance that shows that the players are playing hard and to the best of their ability and as a team.

"I just think Dave's a real good coach. We just need to get him better players. We've started that process. We think we've had a real good draft; time will tell."

The sense is that the pressure on Wannstedt is indeed no greater now than it was last year. The reason, in part, may be Mark Hatley. The personnel vice president, has considerable influence within the organization and, in a separate interview, gave a glimpse of his feelings on the state of the team and, indirectly, the situation of the head coach.

"I think Mike (McCaskey) has to be realistic about what has happened over the years, and what we're trying to catch up with, what they've done well and what they've done badly," Hatley said.

McCaskey acknowledged the late-season division road losses to the Detroit Lions (55-20) and Tampa Bay Buccaneers shook him. Those debacles may have caused McCaskey to rethink his intention to bring Wannstedt back for 1998, but McCaskey stuck to his decision to keep the head coach for a sixth season.

"You take some losses harder than others," McCaskey said. "If you care about winning, and football's such an emotional sport, then you go up and down. That's why I don't comment week by week on how well the team or the coach is doing.

"You have to take a longer view and say, do we have the players to go to the Super Bowl and win? Do we have the coach who can do that? You're scraping bottom when you lose a tough one. It's too emotional a sport. You have to stand back."

McCaskey remains somewhat puzzled by the hostility expressed toward Wannstedt, by all indications a hard-working, good guy, the type of athletic figure who usually plays well in Chicago regardless of record.

But he pointed to the record turnout at the Bears convention earlier this year as significant and he is convinced that the city's antipathy toward both Wannstedt and the team will dissipate with one thing: winning.

"(He's) someone who, with a few good wins under his belt, Chicago will embrace," McCaskey said.

A few bad losses and Chicago will want to do something else to Wannstedt, who has two years remaining on his contract after this season, at $1.2 million for 1999 and $1.3 million for 2000. The Bears already have felt some impact of fan unhappiness in the form of ticket sales. Another disastrous season could confront McCaskey with a difficult business decision.

What happens if the team opens, say, 0-5?

"We're not going to open 0-5," McCaskey said. "That's my solution to that."

Wannstedt is not discussing the prospect of anything close to that start despite a schedule that begins with five playoff teams, three from the NFC Central.

"When we walk on that field (Sept. 6) against Jacksonville, our expectation is that we are going to win that football game," Wannstedt said. "Every coach goes into the season, every team goes into the season expecting to win enough games to get into the playoffs. That's no different this year than three years ago or five years ago."